The distraught father of an autistic teenager who is locked up for 24 hours a day without any physical human contact has told Sky News his daughter “is not an animal”.

He says Bethany is sealed in an empty room with no furniture except a single mattress and food is served to her by sliding it across the floor.

Latest figures suggest Bethany is not alone and more than 2,000 people with a learning disability are being wrongly held in mental health units.

Ashish Joshi went to meet Bethany’s family and has this exclusive report.